At present, the administrative structure of the Society is in the process of being normalized by efforts of [[Consuls]]. These efforts are not widely understood and are therefore often unappreciated. They hope this Vision will articulate their aims more effectively.
# The membership (those members in [[Good Standing]]) elects elect the members of the [[Board|Board of Directors]]
# The Board of Directors elects from its number the senior [[Elected Officers|Officers]], and from the membership elects the minor officers.
# The Board contracts with the Consuls for facilities and services.
# The [[President]] names the [[Committee Chairmen|Chairmen]] of all principal committees, whether of the Board or of the Membership, including [[Committee Chairmen|Deans]] of the [[Lineage Groups]], ''and the [[Dean of Studies]] (pending enactment)''.
# Committee Chairmen name the members of their committees, a minority of whom may be non-members.
# Committee Chairmen name the Chairmen of any Subsub-Committees committees assigned to them; ''the Dean of Studies names the [[Coordinators]] of [[Study Groups]] (pending enactment).''
# The [[Order of the Augustan Eagle]] is headed by the President, who names the officers from that group's membership, with Board confirmation.
# The [[Noble Company of the Rose]] is headed by the ''[[Magister Rosae]]'' who is elected from that groups membership members in Good Standing by those members, with Board confirmation, and the ''MR'' names the officers from that group's membership, also with Board confirmation.
As our membership has shrunk, it has become increasingly difficult to find candidates to stand for Director. While it was not long ago that the size of the Board was reduced from fifteen to nine, it may soon be time to consider additional reductions.
'''Proposal: The Society should consider linking the number of [[Directors]] to the size of the membership, with a maximum of fifteen, a target of 10% of the membership, and a minimum of five.'''
This suggests that if the membership drops to 70, that the size of the Board might be reduced to seven members. Conversely, should the membership increase to 110, then the size would might be increased to eleven. In either case, some amendment of the election cycle would be needed, and a neutral method for implementing the change will be needed.
The change in size can be implemented either through a [[By-Laws]] amendment, or by a 4/5 vote of the Board to change the number of [[Directors]].
An interesting note comes from reviewing attendance. Attendance as a percentage of the Board generally increases as the number of Directors decreases. Even more interesting, the average attendance for a 15-member Board and a 9-member Board was the same: five. This suggests that changes in the number of Directors is unlikely to have much impact.
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As is explained in the section of [[Study Groups Vision]], it is proposed that many Society activities be organized as Study Groups under a Dean.
'''Proposal: The Society should create a [[Dean of Studies]], appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the [[President]], who will administer the [[Study Groups]] and name their [[Coordinators]].'''
# Shared power between the Board of Directors and an Executive Director (similar to the present situation).
The first of these is ideal when the perfect Executive Director is available. This was the structure of the Society under our [[Founder]]. It suffers from major trauma and interruption of services when an Executive Director leaves (or dies), and a suitable replacement is not always available (or affordable). We are today continuing to experience such trauma.
The second of these is best when it's desired to have paid staff, but to keep expenses low. The keys to making this form work are excellent documentation of procedures (which this Wiki is an attempt to address) and attentive but gentle but attentive oversight.
The third of these—the present situation—is often unstable, with responsibility and authority divided in uneasy ways unless even when carefully documented (which this [[Main Page|Wiki]] . It is an attempt to address)unsustainable in the long term.
'''Proposal: The Society should pursue conversion of the administration from the present "shared power" arrangement to having a strong [[Board]] overseeing a largely clerical staff.'''